Wrapping up CincinnatiWrapping up Cincinnati
By Todd Rosiak
Saturday, Feb 2 2008, 07:15 PM
Cincinnati, Ohio -- There was an Ousmane Barro sighting this afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
More than a sighting, in fact. How about a breakout?
The 6-10 senior turned in easily his best performance of the season in MU's 75-60 victory over Cincinnati with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes, setting the tone on both ends of the court with his hustle and determination.
His point total actually wound up more than matching what he'd scored in MU's last seven games combined, in fact, and his total number of boards matched what he'd put up in the last two. And taking into account what was at stake in the game for the Golden Eagles, it was probably Barro's best game since he put up 17 points and 13 rebounds in MU's victory at Connecticut last season.
"Ous has had a great week," said coach Tom Crean. "Everybody needed that. It reminds him that he's capable, that's he still got it, but most importantly it's the poster for ball movement. Because when the ball moves like that there's going to be a lot of different recipients, and that's what we have to understand. We're at a point where we have different players on the floor now that can make plays, so let's utilize them. Let's move the ball."
Barro's offensive performance was exactly what MU needs against zone defenses -- knocking down easy layups while running the baseline off penetration and feeds from the Golden Eagles' guards.
"Those guys just do a great job of looking for me in penetration, dropping it off to the alley. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and they found me for easy baskets," said the always-understated Barro, who hit 9 of 10 shots and his only free-throw attempt. "Dominic, Jerel and Wes were getting through the gaps and finding me. Somebody's got to step up, so that leaves me down in the alley."
While it's unrealistic to expect this on a nightly basis from here on out, Barro's performance undoubtedly reminded his teammates that he can indeed be effective as a scorer when given the ball in the right situations, which should help considerably against the 2-3 zone MU will see again on Monday against Louisville.
-- Crean continually speaks of ball reversal and ball movement with regard to the Golden Eagles' offensive efficiency.
All that and more was on display against the Bearcats, as they wound up with 19 assists on 26 baskets and regularly found the open man against Cincinnati's ineffective zone.
"Same thing we always do, just driving, kicking, getting in the lane, dumping it down to Ousmane, and he was catching and finishing," said Jerel McNeal. "It's the same way we always do it, we just did it the right way today. We were able to get more ball reversals, get a lot better driving angles from up top instead of actually driving into a crowd. So things worked out really well."
Crean expounded.
"Really, our guys did a great job of making the next pass," he said. "We had a segment in yesterday's practice 15-20 minutes in - it was four passes or a layup. So you really weren't even looking at the rim unless you had that layup. But you were moving the ball. In a 15-minute span 80 percent of our team was scoring two or more baskets inside the scrimmage.
"Hopefully that's the stuff that's getting to them, they understand that this is how we play. We're not a team that's going to play and be successful off one or two passes unless it's the break. It's got to be moving the ball. It's not that complicated."
-- McNeal got back on track with a 13-point, seven-assist, five-rebound game that included a brutal fall to the floor in the final minutes after getting tanled up with Cincinnati's John Williamson on a rebound attempt.
McNeal stayed down momentarily, then bounced back up, walked down to the other end of the court and coolly drained two free throws.
"I went up high for a rebound and one of the Cincinnati players was under me, and he just cut my legs out," McNeal said. "On my way down I was just trying to really get onto my side so I'd land on my side instead of just head first. I got my elbow a little bit and hit my head, but I'm good."
-- Freshman Scott Christopherson is now 2 for 2 on three-pointers in Big East play after knocking down his only shot attempt in five surprise minutes in the first half.
"We felt like we wanted to play him," said Crean. "I wanted desperately to get him in earlier on Tuesday night, but it just didn't present itself. But today we were going with it, and he we went in and made the shot. I don't know if it changed the game, but it changed our team. The momentum for our team was good. It's not like we went on a 12-0 run, but it was a great confidence builder for him and for the guys."
-- Crean said that his decision not to play Fitzgerald in the second half after seeing him go 0 for 3 in seven first-half minutes was based more on matchups than anything.
"It was just more going on feel," he said. "That's just the way it worked out. We were in the zone a lot. I think the one thing, the first time out of the second half was then followed by the first TV of the second half, so that's a great stretch for those guys to get some rest within minutes inside the game. It allows them to play a little longer."
Fitzgerald wasn't the only one to see his minutes cut against Cincinnati; David Cubillan only played seven minutes as well, and Maurice Acker played 11. Fitzgerald's and Cubillan's minutes were season lows, while Acker's tied a Big East low.
-- MU has now dished out 19 assists in two of its last three games.
-- Wesley Matthews' nine rebounds tied a season high.
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